Chocola blasts Donnelly over ad

Democrat says he wouldn't have backed video that ran on DCCC site.

Democrat says he wouldn't have backed video that ran on DCCC site.

July 21, 2006|JAMES WENSITS Tribune Political Writer

A video allegedly portraying military caskets being returned from foreign battlefields, shown earlier this month on a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Web site, has prompted U.S. Rep. Chris Chocola, R-Bristol, to attack Democratic rival Joe Donnelly. Meanwhile, the DCCC is airing a new radio ad attacking the incumbent 2nd District congressman. "I find it reprehensible that the DCCC would raise campaign money by exploiting the ultimate sacrifices of our brave men and women," Chocola said in a statement. "Unlike Joe Donnelly, Democrat candidates across the country have distanced themselves from the ad," he said. Earlier this week, the National Republican Congressional Committee put out a release chastising Donnelly for not denouncing the video. Donnelly subsequently issued a statement in which he said that, "As far as I know, this ad is no longer on the committee's Web site, and I would not have supported it. I have always supported and stood with our troops and I always will." On Tuesday, Chocola sent out a follow-up statement criticizing the DCCC and quoting an article in a Washington, D.C., newspaper, The Hill, which said in a Tuesday story that Donnelly defended the ad before it was removed, saying it was "appropriate and important." The story used those words but did not have them in quotation marks. Donnelly spokeswoman Katie Nee said the paper talked to her, not Donnelly, and that she made the remarks without consulting him. "Joe has been consistent all along in saying that neither party should use that imagery in political ads," she said. Nee was quoted in the story as saying, "Joe's not in favor of cutting and running, but he feels it is appropriate to see what sacrifices we have made." Nee said Wednesday the quote was accurate, but that she erred by talking to the paper without consulting Donnelly. The Chocola attack is the latest in a series of GOP allegations here and elsewhere that Democrats are using images of caskets containing the bodies of U.S. soldiers for fundraising purposes. The NRCC issued a statement Monday reiterating the allegation and asking why Donnelly hasn't spoken up "about this deplorable video." The video is no longer on the committee's Web site, according to DCCC spokesman Bill Burton. He said the GOP claim that the video was being used for fundraising is not true. According to Burton, the video was being used to communicate with supporters of Democrats and to lay out a case for what a bad job the Republican-led Congress has been doing in a variety of areas, including the response to Hurricane Katrina, gas prices and the war in Iraq. Burton said the coffins were on screen for "two seconds" during the two-minute video, and said it was taken down to move on to "the next thing in our strategy," and not because of GOP criticism. Meanwhile, the DCCC on Wednesday announced a new radio ad, which it said has President Bush thanking Chocola for approving tax breaks for big oil and gas. Staff writer James Wensits: jwensits@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6353